Ticker on the change of power in the USA Panama's president rules out negotiations on Panama Canal

The Americans have re-elected the President, the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate: The ticker informs you about all the important developments.

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Thursday, January 2, 7:05 p.m.

Newly elected US Congress meets for the first time

Following the US elections in November, the newly appointed Congress will convene for its inaugural session on Friday (18:00 CET). At the same time as the vote for a new president, the House of Representatives was completely re-elected at the beginning of November, and around a third of the seats in the Senate were also up for election. The two chambers are now meeting separately for the first time in a new constellation.

In the House of Representatives, the election for the top post in the chamber is also on the agenda: The previous Republican chairman Mike Johnson is standing for re-election to the influential office. However, in view of his party's narrow majority in the chamber, he has to be anxious.

Friday, December 27, 8:35 p.m.

Because of Trump's deportation plans: Mexico wants to offer emergency app for migrants in the USA

Against the backdrop of future US President Donald Trump's plans for mass deportations, Mexico is planning an emergency app for its citizens in the neighboring country. Mexicans who are about to be arrested by the US authorities will be able to use an emergency mechanism to notify the nearest consulate, Mexico's Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente told journalists on Friday. The family of the person or persons concerned and the Mexican Foreign Ministry would also be notified, he added.

According to de la Fuente, the cell phone app should be ready for use by January. Trump will take office as president on January 20. The Republican had made illegal migration one of his key campaign issues and pledged to carry out a mass deportation with the help of the US military.

Thursday, 26.12.2024, 22.59 hrs

Panama's president rules out negotiations on Panama Canal

The President of Panama has ruled out any negotiations with US President-elect Donald Trump on the Panama Canal. "There is nothing to discuss", said President José Raúl Mulino at a media conference. "The canal is Panamanian and belongs to Panamanians. There is no way to start any conversation about this fact that has cost the country blood, sweat and tears."

On Saturday, Trump had criticized the "ridiculously high fees" that the Central American state charges for the passage of the canal between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He threatened that if Panama was not able to guarantee the "safe, efficient and reliable operation" of the waterway, the USA would "demand the complete and unconditional return of the Panama Canal". Days later, Trump wrote without any evidence that it was Chinese soldiers who were "lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal".

Panama's President Mulino emphasized that the usage fee for the canal is not set arbitrarily by him or the administration, but is levied according to a long-established "public and open procedure". There is also "no Chinese influence or involvement in anything related to the Panama Canal": "There are no Chinese soldiers on the canal, for God's sake!"

The Panama Canal, built by the USA, was opened in 1914. In 1977, the then Democratic US President Jimmy Carter and the then Panamanian military ruler Omar Torrijos signed an agreement to hand over the canal to Panama, and in 1999 the Panamanian state took control of the waterway.

The canal is of central importance for world trade. According to estimates, five percent of the world's commercial shipping traffic passes through the waterway. The canal provides cargo ships with a short route between the Atlantic and Pacific, saving them the lengthy and dangerous crossing of South America. The main users are the USA with around 74 percent of the cargo transported through the canal, followed by China with 21 percent.

Wednesday, 25.12.2024, 23.28 hrs

After canal dispute: Trump nominates US ambassador for Panama

US President-elect Donald Trump has announced his nomination for the post of ambassador to Panama for the American Christmas season - just a few days after making demands with regard to the Panama Canal. He appointed Kevin Marino Cabrera, a local politician from Miami Dade County in the state of Florida, where one of Trump's golf clubs is located.

Cabrera is a "passionate fighter for the principles of America First", Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, and: "Few know Latin American politics as well as Kevin." The appointment must be confirmed by the US Senate.

6.44 pm

Trump wants to campaign for the death penalty as president

US President-elect Donald Trump has sharply criticized incumbent Joe Biden's decision to commute the death sentences of dozens of criminals to life imprisonment. "When you hear the actions of each one, you won't believe that he did this," Trump explained on his Truth Social platform. "It doesn't make sense."

The Republican announced that he would instruct the Department of Justice to "consistently pursue the death penalty" once he took office. "American families and children must be protected from violent rapists, murderers and monsters", explained Trump. During the election campaign, he had repeatedly spoken out in favor of tougher enforcement of the death penalty - including for migrants who have killed US citizens or police officers.

5.40 pm

Ethics committee makes serious allegations against Gaetz

After a lengthy back and forth, the Ethics Committee of the US House of Representatives has published the investigation report into the conduct of controversial Republican Matt Gaetz. The report suggests that the former congressman allegedly paid several women for sex - including a 17-year-old.

Originally, US President-elect Donald Trump had earmarked him for the position of Attorney General, but Gaetz backed out.

According to the ethics committee, there is "substantial evidence" that the 42-year-old was involved in prostitution, sexual abuse of a minor and illegal drug use. In doing so, Gaetz broke both Florida and federal laws, as well as the rules of conduct of the House of Representatives, according to the report. Read more here.

4:44 p.m.

Biden commutes dozens of death sentences to life imprisonment

US President Joe Biden has commuted dozens of death sentences to life imprisonment. He could not allow his successor Donald Trump to resume executions that he had stopped, Biden explained his action. In total, he commuted the death sentences of 37 of the 40 inmates on death row in US federal prisons to life imprisonment - without the possibility of parole.

Following Biden's decree, only three federal inmates in the USA are now facing the death penalty. These are Dylann Roof, who killed nine black people in an attack on a church in Charleston in 2015; Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who killed three people and injured 264 others together with his brother Tamerlan, who was killed while on the run, in 2013; and Robert Bowers, who killed eleven worshippers in an attack on a synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018. It was the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in US history.

5.12 am

Trump wants to stop "transgender insanity"

US President-elect Donald Trump is not impressed by criticism of social discrimination and has once again announced his intention to stop "transgender insanity" in the United States. He will sign executive orders "to end the sexual mutilation of children" and ban transgender people from the military, elementary schools, middle schools and high schools, the Republican said at "AmericaFest" in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. "And we will keep men out of women's sports."

During the election campaign, Trump had already generated a lot of cheers from his audience at rallies with these statements. He also made fun of transgender people on stage. Trans people or transgender people are people who do not feel they belong to the gender they were assigned at birth.

Trump went on to say in Phoenix: "Under the Trump administration, it will be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female." During the election campaign, he had already announced that on his first day in office he would repeal a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, which the administration of outgoing President Joe Biden had introduced in early 2024 to protect transgender students.

Trump's close confidant Elon Musk has also repeatedly made it clear in the heated discrimination debate in the US that he considers the protection of minorities to be an unrealistic aberration of elitist left-wing circles. Among other things, the tech billionaire railed against medical care for young people who do not identify with their biological gender.

According to Musk's daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson, she has been living as a trans woman since 2020 and harshly criticizes her father for his statements against gender reassignment. The differences of opinion with his daughter are seen in some US media as a decisive reason why Musk now represents positions of the American right.

2.11 am

Nato chief expects new demands from Trump

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte expects new pressure from future US President Donald Trump in the debate about the comparatively low defense spending of European alliance states such as Germany. "He will want us to do more," said Rutte in an interview with the German Press Agency.

Overall, the European allies are now investing more than two percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) in defense. In four to five years, however, there will be a problem with deterrence against Russia if more is not spent.

Rutte did not say whether he considers an increase in the NATO target for defense spending to three percent of GDP or even more to be sensible. A decision on this should be made by the NATO summit next June. During the election campaign, Trump had announced that he considered an increase in the NATO target to three percent of GDP to be necessary. There have recently been reports that Trump could even call for five percent. In the Republican's view, the European partners do far too little for defense and rely too much on the USA for protection. During his first term in office, Trump even threatened to leave Nato because of this.

Germany has recently increased its defense spending enormously, but will still only achieve a GDP ratio of around 2.1 percent this year. The USA, on the other hand, consistently spends significantly more than three percent of GDP. The current NATO target is for the alliance states to invest at least two percent of their GDP in defense.

Monday, December 23, 2024, 1:28 a.m.

Callista Gingrich becomes US ambassador to Switzerland

US President-elect Donald Trump has announced the appointment of Callista Gingrich as the new US ambassador to Switzerland on his own social media platform "Truth Social".

"I am pleased to announce that Callista L. Gingrich will be our next United States Ambassador to Switzerland," Trump wrote about an hour ago. Gingrich had already been US ambassador to the Vatican during the future US president's first term in office. In his post, Trump wrote that the 62-year-old Republican had worked to promote and defend international religious freedom, combat human trafficking and provide humanitarian aid around the world during her last term in office. Callista Gingrich is married to Newt Gingrich. The Republican was Speaker of the House of Representatives in the USA between 1995 and 1999.

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